Mt. Shasta and Mt. Ashland Ski Parks: Skiers kept waiting for snow

Tuesday

Jan 7, 2014 at 3:11 PM

By Bill Choy@SDNBillChoy

A dry winter has caused the Mt. Shasta and Mt. Ashland ski parks to anxiously await the white stuff to finally fall as the season keeps getting pushed back.While snow is expected this week after a period of unseasonably warm weather, there is a decent chance it won’t be enough to let the parks open in the next week or so. But officials from both Mt. Shasta and Mt. Ashland are hopeful the weather gods will be kind and they can open soon as anxious skiers and snowboarders wait for the chance to finally hit the slopes. At Mt. Shasta they were able to make enough artificial snow that they had one ski lift open from Dec. 26 to 29 but had to close when the weather warmed up again.Mt. Ashland officials hope there is a possibility they could open up from Jan. 13 to Jan. 16, but realize that a good amount of snow needs to fall and it’s cold enough to stick to make this a reality.“We’re in a waiting pattern right now,” Mt. Ashland general manager Kim Clark said. “We’re ready.”

He added that there is hope the “storm doors will open again,” and the needed snow will come to the mountain. After all, the average opening date is in early to mid-December.Webcams for both parks on Monday afternoon showed patches of snow on the ground, but the scene looked more like late spring than the middle of winter in January. At the Mt. Shasta ski park on Monday, the high was 48 degrees and the low was 33.Jim Mullins, the marketing director for the Mt. Shasta Ski Park, is hopeful the park will get enough snow to reopen again soon.“We’re geared up and ready to go,” Mullins said. He added that it’s always tough to be on a holding pattern and not opening by the typical date sometime in mid December. There are 300 people employed by the ski park waiting to get back to work, along with the numerous businesses that rely on folks coming to Mount Shasta to ski and snowboard at the park.Mullins said they are hopeful they can resume soon and not miss too much of the ski season.“Think snow,” he said.While not a huge amount is expected to fall this week around Mount Shasta, Mullins said “at least it’s something.” According to the Mt. Shasta ski park website, “The weather model is changing for Siskiyou County and the high pressure ridge will begin breaking down by Tuesday. This means precipitation is in the forecast starting Wednesday.”Brett Lutz, a meteorologist with the National weather service in Medford, Ore., said the forecast is for 3 to 6 inches of snow to fall at Mt. Shasta and 6-18 inches of snow to fall at Mt. Ashland this week. He said he believes that figure will likely fall between the low and high estimates. While an average amount for this time of year, Lutz believes it likely won’t be enough for the ski parks to open this week or next.A skier himself, Lutz is hopeful enough snow will fall soon so he can enjoy both resorts in the near future.On Saturday, Mt. Ashland is hosting a “Pray for Snow Party.” The event includes a barbecue and will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. “Hopefully it will be held in the middle of a blizzard,” Clark said about the event.For updated weather conditions at the Mt. Shasta ski park, go to www.skipark.com. For Mt. Ashland, go to www.mtashland.com/index.asp.